As the regular TV season winds down, many beloved series are left lying on the cutting room floor after a brutal year for cancellations.
The entertainment industry is booming with huge profits, creative genius and more outlets than ever to make a show. However, where there are more shows, it makes sense that there are more cancellations. This does not make them hurt any less, of course, and this spring many fans were left feeling stung by the wave of cancellations.
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Everywhere from network TV to cable channels to the lauded new streaming platforms, shows got the ax. Many were dropped for low ratings and low interest, but to their fans, that explanation does not help. They are left wondering what more they could have done to get new episodes of their beloved stories and keep their characters together a bit longer.
Unfortunately, there is no good answer. Shows come and go, even in today’s day and age, when so many are saved by other outlets or fan outcry and petitions.
On network TV, old models prevail. Executives count on Nielsen ratings to reflect profitability, and while those are changing to include DVRs, on-demand services and streaming platforms, it is still a matter of weighing advertiser dollars against those dreaded decimal points.
Meanwhile, streaming services have their own, more mysterious ways of doing things. This leaves them even more open to outrage from fans. It seemed like every cancellation Netflix announced this spring led to online petitions, angry tweets and fans declaring that they were canceling their subscription once and for all. Nonetheless, Netflix reported soaring profits this year, and they expect it to continue.
Before the season is really over, it’s worth taking a look back at all the shows we lost in the 2018-2019 TV season. Here is a look at which series each outlet dropped.
CBS
It is a sad year at CBS, with a couple of huge shows coming to an end. Obviously, the first one everyone’s mind is The Big Bang Theory โ a multi-camera sitcom of the kind we don’t see much these days. The comedy sensation has dominated TV for 12 seasons now, and at last it is being put to rest.
Other shows like Elementary are ending as well, while some are being canceled unexpectedly. See the full list below:
The Big Bang Theory
Code Black
Elementary
Fam
Happy Together
Life in Pieces
Murphy Brown
Salvation
It is worth noting that CBS has a few shows on the bubble as well, and three seem dangerously closed to cancellation. They are The Code, Ransom and World’s Best.
NBC
It was a pretty tame year at NBC, where the list of renewals far outweighs the list of cancellations. Still, the shows that are getting dropped leave fans that much more saddened, and it is hard to blame them. The official cancellations are listed below:
I Feel Bad
Marlon
Midnight, Texas
Reverie
Timeless
Trial & Error
While most shows have been accounted for at this point, each network has a few still on the bubble. Those at NBC are especially in danger, as the network has already announced many renewals, so there can’t be that many more to go around. The last three shows in question at NBC are A.P. Bio, The Enemy Within and Genius Junior.
ABC
ABC has a huge catalogue of game shows, competition shows and reality shows that make up a lot of its ratings. The serialized shows were not as lucky, as ABC dropped a handful this week. Some were big surprises, especially considering the resources ABC put into advertising them.
At the end of the day, however, the network bet on its proven properties and cut the younger shows short.ย The cancellations are:
For The People
Speechless
The Kids Are Alright
Splitting Up Together
Take Two
The Fix
Whiskey Cavalier
Five shows at ABC are on the bubble, and with the schedule filling up, there is no guarantee of safety for any of them. They are:
The Alec Baldwin Show
Celebrity Family Feud
Dancing With the Stars: Juniors
The Gong Show
The Proposal
Fox
Fox finalized a few more renewals this week as well, leaving almost its entire lineup accounted for. Many fans are sad to see the X-Men spinoff series The Gifted go, and Gotham was brought to an end just as many felt it was finding its footing. In addition, Lethal Weapon ended with quite a bit of drama and a major casting change.
Here is the full list of Fox cancellations:
The Cool Kids
The Gifted
Gotham
Lethal Weapon
Love Connection
The Passage
Proven Innocent
Rel
Star
With the exception of summer programming, only two shows remain unaccounted for at Fox. One is The Four, which seems unlikely to get renewed, and the other is Gordon Ramsay’s 24 Hours to Hell and Back, which is hard to guess about.
The CW
Four shows are coming to a close at The CW this year although all were given fair warning. Arrow is coming to an end after eight successful seasons, and will continue on in the other DC Comics-based shows. Other shows are also getting spinoffs on the network.
The CW cancellations are:
Arrow
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
iZombie
Jane the Virgin
Cable
Cable channels were hit hard this year as well, with big hits like Broad City drawing to an end. Notably, Disney Channel canceled its comedy Andi Mack in a hurry after cast member Stoney Westmoreland was allegedly caught soliciting sex from an underage child online. However, according to The Hollywood Reporter, star Peyton Elizabeth Lee will take the lead role in a new series on Disney+, so the show’s fans can look there for consolation.
Here are some of the cable channel cancellations:
AMC – Dietland
AMC – Into the Badlands
AMC – Preacher
AMC – The Son
Audience – Hit the Road
Audience – ICE
BET – Being Mary Jane
BET – Hit the Floor
Cartoon Network – Adventure Time
Cinemax – Outcast
Comedy Central – Another Period
Comedy Central – Broad City
Comedy Central – Detroiters
Disney Channel – Andi Mack
Epix – Berlin Station
Freeform – Alone Together
Freeform – Shadowhunters
Freeform – Young & Hungry
FXX – You’re the Worst
Cable (cont.)
More cancellations around the cable TV world are below, including some premium cable outlets that are pivoting gradually toward streaming. Obviously, the end of Game of Thronesย onย HBO is one of the biggest losses of the year. The other series based on George R.R. Martin’s writing โ Nightflyers on Syfy โ was also dropped this year after just one season.
Here are the rest of the cancellations from cable channels this season:
HBO – Animals
HBO – Crashing
HBO – Game of Thrones
History – SIX
IFC – Stan Against Evil
OWN – Love Is__
POP – Let’s Get Physical
Showtime – Homeland
Showtime – I’m Dying Up Here
Showtime – SMILF
STARZ – Counterpart
STARZ – Power
Syfy – Channel Zero
Syfy – Nightflyers
Syfy – Z Nation
TBS – Angie Tribeca
TBS – Wrecked
TNT – Good Behavior
TNT – The Last Ship
TV Land – Teachers
USA Network – Colony
USA Network – Shooter
USA Network – Suits
Netflix
Next, there is no doubt that Netflix dominates the world of streaming service and original content โ at least for now โ but it is not necessarily a good thing that the company earns an entire list of cancellations to itself this year. Netflix broke a lot of hearts in the 2018-2019 season, and many are starting to see a pattern in the outlet’s cancellations that they don’t particularly like.
Netflix’s cancellations so far this year are:
All About the Washingtons
American Vandal
Easy
Friends From College
The Good Cop
House of Cards
Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events
Marvel’s Daredevil
Marvel’s Iron Fist
Marvel’s Jessica Jones
Marvel’s Luke Cage
Marvel’s The Punisher
One Day at a Time
Orange is the New Black
Santa Clarita Diet
Seven Seconds
Travelers
Unbreakable Kimmy Schimdt
Other Streaming Services
Lastly, the other streaming services dropped shows as well this year, and die-hard fans were no less devastated. Quite a few series are leaving YouTube’s fledgling subscription service, and CBS All Access had its first cancellation ever this year.
Here are the other shows cancelled by streaming services this year:
Amazon Prime – Catastrophe
Amazon Prime – Transparent
CBS All Access – One Dollar
Hulu – Casual
Hulu – The First
Hulu – UnREAL
YouTube Premium – Champaign ILL
YouTube Premium – Do You Want to See a Dead Body?
YouTube Premium – Origin
YouTube Premium – Ryan Hansen Solves Crimes on Television